Dyplay ANC Shield Pro True Wireless Review

There’s a whole section of Amazon that is dedicated to finding inexpensive true wireless earbuds. These products are mainly from brands you may not have heard of, or that are swept under the radar. I’ve written about a variety of these wireless earbuds in the past, most recently the JAYS f-Five. Now I bring to you another true wireless system for less than a hundred dollars, the dyplay ANC Shield Pro. Dyplay’s main focus is on true wireless, aiming to produce the best noise-canceling earbuds on a budget price. The Shield Pro goes for 89.99, which is actually their most costly true wireless. That being said, let’s see if this is dyplay at their best. 

What You Get

Dyplay doesn’t include anything out of the ordinary when it comes to accessories. The packaging is your standard fare. You’ll find the earbuds themselves already in the charging case, while your USB-C charging cable and extra ear tips can be found in the box below. This also includes a user manual which is helpful for learning the various touch controls on the Sheild Pro. 

Look and Feel

Having the right sized charging case is important for true wireless. I just want it to fit snug in my pocket without feeling like it’s taking up too much space. The Shield Pro is the perfect size for me. It’s pill-shaped and features a compact size that makes portability a breeze. Now there are the earbuds themselves, which despite the small charging case, sport a surprisingly large housing. Not large enough to be a problem though, in fact, the architecture of the shell itself rides nicely along with your ears. The triangular design sits well resting in the natural curves of your ear. However, I think the nozzle could have stretched out a little bit for a more secure, tighter fit. The aesthetic design isn’t the most attractive, but for the price, it’s simple and intuitive.

Design and Functionality

While most of the time I see true wireless systems of this stature sporting 6-7mm drivers, the Shield Pro surprisingly implements a 9.2mm dynamic driver. This system uses custom composite diaphragms that aims to deliver the most convincing signal reproduction you can get on a true wireless. The output gain was a little low without noise-canceling enacted, but I never felt the earbuds were underdelivering. 

Then there are the controls, which are a big contention of discussion from me. I believe the simplest controls work so much better than most touch-sensitive gestures in pricier models. I’m glad to report that the Shield Pro has extremely responsive and easy to navigate controls that made my experience with them all the better. These buds use a touch-sensitive faceplate that uses simple presses for its functionality. For instance, answer/pick up a phone call by simply pressing either surface once. Play/pause is relegated to one press on the right bud, and volume control is committed to two presses on both the left and right. These controls are laid out concisely in the manual, and can probably be found easily online as well. They don’t take long to figure out and they respond fast, which is a huge plus.

The last two features offered on the Shield Pro is both your ANC option and pass-through mode, which lets ambient sounds from outside become known. The level of noise-canceling could be more effective but it gets the job done in terms of filtering out more mechanical distractions.

Bluetooth 

Bluetooth 5.0 features on the Shield Pro and supports AAC and SBC CODECs. The pairing was seamless and effortless, which is becoming more of the norm with true wireless now so good on dyplay for staying up to date. 

Battery Life

I was quite surprised to learn that the Shield Pro offers 8 hours of charge, with 32 total hours when paired with the charging case. Considering charge time only takes an hour and a half to get to full charge again, and considering the price point, this is excellent for a true wireless. You can get an ample amount of playback time on the Shield Pro which makes these buds immediately more valuable than a lot of others in this price range. 

Soundstage

True wireless systems don’t exactly carry the most immaculate stages and don’t offer the cleanest separation, but the Shield Pro does the best job it can presenting an accurate sense of spatial imaging for its output. It’s still a mostly closed off image, though sounds don’t betray their positioning and the space is quite circular. I found some semblance of depth listening to a few tracks, but most of the time stick to the surface.

Low End

One of the main draws of The Shield Pro for me is it’s a bass-head friendly earbud. It offers some of the widest imaging on the Shied Pro, with considerable resonance and width. The imaging takes up a lot of the spectrum, swallowing some key mid-range characteristics. The bass can be quite boomy at times, especially with deep bass synths and low kicks. There’s a lot of basses feel to go around, and if that’s what you’re looking for, you’ll be happy here. 

Mids 

The mid-range leaves a lot to be desired, as the Shield Pro’s v-shaped signature doesn’t feature a whole lot of resolution. Most of the mid bands aren’t very present despite some low mid and upper high mid focus, I didn’t feel they were particularly clear. For what you get, this timbre is enough to amuse me, but there’s always room for improvement. 

Highs

Some highs make themselves pretty clear, but lack shine, or any textures that might give the Shield Pro an edge. While never bright or too harsh I just found them sort of bland with no real sparkle. They weren’t clean enough to be natural, but not damp enough to be muddy. 

Summary

Though the timbre has some noticeable flaws, I believe the Shield Pro to be a great true wireless for the price. At only $89.99 you can get a powerful, long-lasting earbud that’s easy to use, and gives you some awesome bass. For many, that’s all you need to make a valuable purchase. 

Pros and Cons

Pros: Battery life, bass, controls

Cons: Flawed timbral properties, not very secure     

The dyplay ANC Shield Pro is available at Amazon

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